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The Soap Opera Game
It wasn't cute when Jack and Rose did it in the Titanic, and it sure as hell wasn't cute when they did it here. First off, yes, there was plenty of room on that damn door, and here, I spent the whole finale going, 'there wasn't room in that car for him to get inside too?' Cuz, why the eff did Pheem stay behind? And no, no explanation would justify that nonsense. The Wicked Game took itself way too serious, and ended up falling into the predicable hole.Listen, that brother Chet. What the hell was his problem? I felt like he personally hated me, cuz Mfker spent the entire series overreacting and throwing childish tantrums, instead of giving me what I wanted. The whole time, every time he was on screen saying whatever, and doing whatever the hell he was doing, I was busy staring from him to his bodyguard, you know that one dude who looked like the best regret. Like, whenever Chet opened his mouth, I kept going, 'Yeah, yeah, good for you, now kiss' Only for the mfker to up and die, and saying nonsense like, 'live your life and be happy, bodyguard.' Eff that happiness, what about me ,huh? Sure, bodyguard crooked two seconds later, still... they spent 10 episodes wasting all of that chemistry, and for what? This felt like a personal attack. Boooo!
Pheem and Than.
The drama wasn't called 'The Nice Game', so imma need all the people who keep being on Pheem's case to sit back down. Personally, I get him, he needed to be wicked to heal that child in him who was totally destroyed from how cruel the world treated him. Was he right in what he did to Than, hell no, but that ex-police officer knew Pheem was there for revenge and he still went all in with both eyes closed and heart wide open...only to immediately got shot, twice. LMAO, the eff he thought was gonna happening falling in love with a guy who hit him with a car on their first meeting?
Than is such a nice person it made him dumb. Like, come on officer, wake up a little. Dude got shot twice and spent 5mins looking real sad at the camera, and immediately went back and married the guy who literally dug a grave and shoved him in. Ain't no one that in love. May this level of in loveness-ness never locate me. Sure everyone think he's a dirty cop, but at least he got super rich, and has a not so dead husband, who loves running away, so, yaaay him.
Plot
The cartoonish shooting scenes. Literally, did they all aim at the air beside their targets or what? In the finale, I kept shaking my head, cuz what even are we doing at this point? Like all that shots and mfkers kept running around for like 10 more minutes, only for one to end up dead in a flashback... meh. The plot was also very predictable, cuz who among us believed for a second Than was dead, or that Pheem died? Both times I was like, stop wasting screen time and just show him already, I know his arse still alive, y'all won't even dare.
Characters.
The plot was okay, over the top in how it was directed and acted by some, but it did entertained me. Offroad's character was very interesting, and I liked him. I was actually rooting for Risa cuz the men were annoying. Please, I won't even start on the father, cuz that mfker doesn't even deserves me to waste pixels talking about his arsholeness-ness. I did like DaouOffroad, I always enjoy their work, so although this one wasn't the best they've done, I still enjoyed myself.
All-in-all, a watchable show, very soap opera-rly, so expect nonsense, over the top crap, cartoonish scenes. Apart from that, very decent, and I'll recommend it, especially for DaouOffroad fans. I look forward to their next work.
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Interesting blend of thriller/mystery with fantasy plus romance
Disclaimer: I started to watch this drama because of the catchy title and the female lead being Park Shin Hye (whom have a lot popular works previously).Story: was certainly an interesting blend of crime solving with fantasy elements. Each mini arcs were interesting, the criminals depicted in the drama were certainly rotten to the core (in my opinion) so it was super refreshing (for me) to see how the female lead take matters in her own hands to ensure the criminals gets what they deserved. I also thought the drama was quite nicely written to piece all the mini arcs into a bigger puzzle that focus on the female and male leads' choice and how their choices affect their lives. It was also great to see that this drama had some romance element as well, which makes the drama slightly more light-hearted to watch.
Cast: As always, Park Shin Hye delivers her character perfectly, and this time it was a demon (Kang Bit Na / Justitia). Her acting was amazing, whether it was action scenes or emotional scenes. I didn't expect she will not be able to deliver her character perfectly. It's my first time watching a drama from the male lead (Kim Jae Young) and I was quite impressed with his acting. I also thought the chemistry between Shin Hye and Jae Young was quite good. The acting of the supporting casts were good as well. In fact, their casting was really good (whether its the supporting casts or the guest roles)... In fact, I wasn't expecting Shin Sung Rok to take a guest role in this drama.
OST: I personally liked the most from Sunmi - Crossroad. I always felt a little emotional when the song appears during the drama (especially when its the emotional scenes between the male and female lead).
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Great plot and the actors delivered comedy and hot scenes!
Two assassins in town are suspects of killing other criminals around, and also a young car-thief guy is looking for the police pardon to continue on his life. What about messing a infiltrator inside the assassins organization. Well, it started all well, with action and tense moments, but it went going more predictable and just fan service towards the ends of the show.The series do is recommended, has good plot and it delivers comedy, action and cute love BL scenes. The last episodes are missing "something", but they got to deliver the lovely happy ending for the couples. Also, something very interesting, it's that the main couple should feel like the little brother and the police infiltrate, but the second main couple deliver triple more chemistry and more spicy moments on screen, so they make the series worth watching more about Joong Archen and Dunk Natachai.
In the last episode, they said "no more killing" but there was quite lot killing about other criminal guards. And also one couple gets to own a restaurant and a car retailer shop, and the other one just a international trip, seems so unfair and dispair after so many years.
A good series to watch one time, to understand all the spicy BL references inside, and all the marketing it got, but maybe just worth watching once.
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Best Pacing for a Drama
I will be honest the first 8 Epsidoes I was figuring out if I liked the Male Lead and Female Lead and look now, I finished this 40 episode drama & honestly I have been dropping so many Dramas lately!The more experienced the cast the better, this cast is nothing short of brilliant, the drama doesn't go stale, the writers found ways to continue to make the story fresh, appealing, interesting throughout the 40 Episodes. The chemistry between the entire cast was good.
Jiang Shu Ying was excellent in her role, chemistry with the Male Lead Peng Yu Chang was awesome, they set the tone early.... I mentioned before I need to like the characters or else I drop the drama, these 2 characters become very likeable after 8 episodes, for some even earlier. They grow into their roles. The other main female Lead Liu Min Tao is excellent as well, very strong in her role, the story with her husband also interesting....
The pacing of this drama is very impressive. I do recommend to watch this drama
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Interesting Premise but the need for a sequel lets it down.
Where do I begin?I started this show due to a reel. Admittedly I was also curious because I have watched different dramas of the Female Leads.
It started off well enough, had a cheating subplot that added some character struggle and ethical dilemma(more on this, the show had another brilliant dilemma that they washed under the rug).
But as another viewer pointed out, the "girl boss" drama was only girl boss for 33% of the time. The first two and the last two episodes. The middle? Had the Female leads run around in circles only saved by the Cop husband, the hacker guy, or the antihero fiancé. I was quite disappointed with it honestly. But minor issue I thought at the time.
Up until the major ethical dilemma arises, around episode 10, the story was great. It had issues, emotional struggle, the whole shebang associated with lawyer dramas. Episode 11 and 12 was when the story went for a toss. Maybe they wanted to resolve the ethical dilemma; maybe they wanted another season; maybe they realised that the drama was centred around women actually coming out on top. Whatever be the case, the ending was rushed. The minor ethical dilemma glossed over. Characters killed offscreen. Episode 12 made me skip several times because of how I disliked how it handled complex issues.
The actors were great, the visuals really nice, and pacing was decent too.
Honestly, there's several stuff in the drama that begs further questioning. Quite a bit of issues that we as a society need to think off. Regardless this drama is a one time watch. Hopefully any further seasons fixes how the first one ended.
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A Decent BL!
I'm bad at writing my thoughts, and my English is not good, but here I go!I loved Ji Ho Geun! He is so handsome, and he reminded me of Ji Sub ( The Eight Sense), the acting style, and THE gaze!! OMG, I would faint is someone look at me like that someday. Help!
I always like these kinds of characters who struggles with traumas, and depression. I feel so much empathy with them. Unfortunately I find myself in a situation where I can relate to them in some things. :/
Se heon is cute, I like his babygirl side! The main couple is what I expected, tension at the beginning, but then the sweetness between them is so nice to see. Beautiful chemistry, and their kisses scenes were fine, especially THAT KISS! Uff so nicee
The second couple had so much chemistry too! Joo Ha was an intriguing character, the actor Kim Jung Ha did a great job, and Do Yoon is an adorable character, sad he fell in love with a bully. In real life enemies to lovers relationships are not fun, but this is fiction, so I enjoyed all the conflicts between them.
However, the director( or whoever decision was to make such a weird scene) did the actors dirty. The fake kiss of Do Yoon and Joo Ha was cringy! :(
I dont really mind if a series contains kisses/spicy scenes or not, not everything is about kisses, but most of the times these kind of scenes are meaningful and important for the story and the relationship development. I mean, it's normal to kiss your partner, and being affectionate towards the person you love, there is nothing wrong with wanting to see these things in a series.
In this case, the problem for me wasnt if they kissed or not, the problem was all that blurry and terrible camera angle, the production team should have used a different technique to make the scene to look real. It was hard to connect with them because of this scene. The hug between Do Yoon and Joo Ha was beautiful tho, it felt with so much sentiment, it made me forget a little about the "kiss". I would have liked to see a bit more about them and their relationship.
Anyways, in general, the series was okay, I didnt get bored.
Jazz For Two could have been better, I enjoyed the webtoon way more, but overall I liked it. I will rewatch this BL, maybe...
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Nothing special...
Well for me it was just okay drama, which isn't a must-watch or isn't even a waste of time it's just something regular/average. As you won't get anything special or I would say don't expect that. It's office romance and as it's shown that there's an age difference so actually FL is just 1 year older than ML but its difference isn't in age it's more about the experience and also maturity. It's a typical love story filled with typical K-drama cliches. So don't have any high expectations from it.But it has a really bad first impression of ML. Though his character is shown to be very different/perfect in further episodes if you judge on the first impression then it's definitely arrogant, rude, and interfering in others' personal space ML. Can call it a jerk thought it was just for the first few sides and then he became cute, understanding, enduring or I would say perfect ML for everyone. For me I really didn't get at what point FL Song Ah started to like our perfect ML for me it was out of nowhere but it's my opinion though.
Okay so the characters which I really liked Ha Eun this child's character is most well written and I really loved her every scene she showed stealer for me and her mom Yun Seung ah her character was beautiful still I felt very bad for her.... and I loved the secondary couple cute and bubbly. Though SML and SFL were both meh for me. I'm not a big fan of both leads but they were just likable for me.
I wasn't that satisfied with this at some point I was frustrated by it... still bothered by many things but it does have a happy ending well if you are a sucker for happy endings then you won't be disappointed as for some ending is more important than a journey which is not my case.
Overall it was average drama...
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Petals of Love
I began to watch this drama best off of a recommendation and let me tell you, the first few minutes you will be like, what am I watching. It was definitely hot to say the least.ML (Yan Zi Xian aka He Xing Zhou) walks in on our FL (Hong Xia aka Yang An Ning) taking a bath. But that’s not the best part, He Xing Zhou snatches up a robe and lifts her naked body out of the bath and wraps her in the robe and places her on a chaise. She then begins her seduction of him and him of her – it is so well done that you can feel the heat coming off of them.
After taking all of that in…I was intrigued to see what was going to happen next.
Yang An Ning is a famous opera actress in Yuncheng and is out for revenge to avenge the death of her senior brother, Snowdrop who was an actress too. She makes a hard play, I mean hard play for He Xing Zhou, the son of the local warlord. He Xing Zhou is known as the “Devil of Yucheng” due to his cold demeanor, standoffishness and unpleasant disposition. Many were surprised that the warlord and the actress had become an item. They thought he would be with Lu Yongxi, daughter of the Lus but she betrayed him and decided to marry his disabled brother (Cao Jun Hao aka He Ming Ting).
To further immerse herself with He Xing Zhou’s life, Yang An Ning sets several traps for him throughout the drama The first one was having an assailant come to attack He Xing Zhou. She then steps in front of him and gets stabbed saving him. He is shocked to see that she would do such an act of kindness for him. He takes her to the car where he gives her first aid. He asks her what she wants in return for saving him. She says she wants to go to the Commander’s Mansion. This was the last place that Snowdrop was at when he died. She needed to get entry so that she could investigate his death hence putting He Xing Zhou in her debt for saving him and the price was just what she wanted -- to get into the Commander's Mansion. He Xing Zhou agrees but tells her that it won’t be a friendly encounter to which she tells him she doesn’t care. Once again, her seduction of him is on. The car is steamed up once he begins kissing her, goodness, he was going for it…whew!
Yang An Ning upon entering the Commander’s Mansion has her first meeting with Lu Yongxi and He Ming Ting. These two will be a catalyst for both He Xing Zhou and Yang An Ning throughout the drama.
He Xing Zhou does not have a good relationship with his father (Yang Xiao Bo aka He Zhen Yun) due to how his mother died. While He Xing Zhou was meeting with his father, Yang An Ning also ran into Mrs. He where an argument ensued based on her making a comment about Snowdrop, actresses etc. which set Yang An Ning off. Not liking her attitude Mrs. He literally tortures Yang An Ning with beating and clamping both her hands. Hearing all of this commotion, He Ming Ting attempts to stop his mother who was not to be dissuaded by him and continued until, you got it, here comes He Xing Zhou.
Things escalated to the point until He Zhen Yun hears all the arguing. This is where He Xing Zhou got pushed to his breaking point because he was angry with his father mentioning about Yang An Ning being an actress, reminding him of how his father treated his mother. He decides right then and there and tells everyone he was marrying Yang An Ning in three days. Yang An Ning then takes this opportunity to set up another trap by saying she is pregnant. Of course, He Xing Zhou knew she was lying and told her never to act so brazen again, or else.
The wedding day arrives. You know there is going to be drama and there was. As Yang An Ning sat in the wedding carriage outside of the He Mansion, He Xing Zhou is told that Lu Xiong poisoned herself to commit suicide. He Xing Zhou comes out of the mansion, not even telling Yang An Ning what is going on and leaves to go to Lu Xiong dressed in his groom apparel. She sat all day long waiting for He Xing Zhou to return.
Meanwhile, He Xing Zhou finds out that Lu Xiong was trying to stop him from marrying Yang An Ning. This is a double wedding you will find out that is why she tried to kill herself because Lu Xiong had to finally marry, He Ming Ting, all the while still in love with He Xing Zhou. He wasn’t down with anything that she was saying. And again, tells her it is over. She moved on with his brother and it was her choice, so this is the last time he will have conversation with her.
Yang An Ning was still waiting until Mrs. He comes out and tells her she can come into the mansion. They embarrass her beyond all means to the point that in order for her to marry He Xing Zhou she had to kneel in the courtyard while it rained on her. If he did not return by midnight there would be no wedding and she would have to leave the mansion.
He Xing Zhou makes it with Lu Xiong on horseback and races in to find Yang An Ning drenched and kneeling in the rain. He asks her why she is kneeling all the while cutting death glances to Mrs. He. She tells him that she thought he didn't want to marry her. At that moment, when you see him carry her to get married, you will love him even more. The next morning, the way he looks at her and holds her, oh, and when he smiles, you can tell he loves her. Right there was a major turning point in their relationship.
You do get to see some lighthearted moments between them when he is jealous of his brother and when they truly fall in love once she really becomes pregnant.
Oh, and wait to you see him give her the medicine she needs to take for her pregnancy. Well, you will definitely want to take it from him that way moving forward. This man can kiss…. wow!!!
There are some exciting highlights that unfold in this drama:
- She has an “accident” that she makes them believe that Mrs. He did to make her have a miscarriage
- The murder of He Zhen Yun (his father) - which He Xing Zhou is blamed for killing him
- The loss of their baby after she really does get pregnant (Lu Xiong switches out the medicine that he makes for her)
- He Xing Zhou becomes addicted to opium (because He Ming Ting switching his cigars with opium)
- Lu Xiong gives her something to strip her voice so that she will not be able to sing
- The ring that put marks on Snowdrops body and death was caused by He Ming Ting
- Yang An Ning stabbing He Xing Zhou and loses her mind
Lu Yongxi is just one screw loose because she only loves He Xing Zhou, but she decided on He Ming Ting who you will find out is even nuttier than her. She does make the ultimate sacrifice for both He Xing Zhou and Yang An Ning which will make you feel sorry for all the abuse that she put up with He Ming Ting.
The ML and FL have off the chart chemistry and their romantic scenes, forget about it! So hot! You will keep looking at the FL as if you know her from somewhere, I will help you with that, she reminds you of the American actress, Jenna Dewan.
Yan Zi Xian in every drama I’ve seen him in (Lovesickness, Chasing Love and Taking Love as a Contract) he brings it. Definitely a favorite to watch. The man ladies, can kiss, just watch him.
Everything to me was good with regards to the story. The ending left me feeling blah. I felt like something was missing and it could have been better. Don’t get me wrong, it is a happy ending, but it just leaves you wanting some more.
But I can truly say in the end, the petals of love of a begonia did encompass both Yang An Ning and He Xing Zhou with affection, love, pleasure, longing, happiness, desire, passion and romance.
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The drama is the title... 流水迢迢
I just want to say... this is a very beautiful drama. There are just so much depth to these characters and they have such great love for their country and people. Everyone might have gone separate ends at the end, but they are all doing their parts to continue to protect their country and people. I just love our characters so much.Jiang Ci... our carefree girl who came down the mountains, experienced the greatest pain yet also met her greatest love. She is just like her name, kind and benevolent. And she will continue to live on and live on well, for the ones who have protected and risked her lives for her. She will live on for them and save those who need saving.
Wei Zhao... born as the son of the city lord of a land trapped between two great states, his fate was already sealed since then. But he met friends/comrades who fought by his side, people who believed in his cause, and he too, met the love of his life who he will watch over forever and forever. In the darkest timeline he lived in, he managed to strike a ray of hope at the end.
Pei Yan... he who didn't know how to love properly due to his upbringing. Raised to protect his family only but grown to desire to protect the country and common people. He too learned that the way to love isn't only to cage someone, but to let them go. He might never get what his heart truly desires, but he will be able to protect the country that his loved ones live in.
Thank you for this beautiful story and to our supporting characters too who each had their own arc and path in life.
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Started great than fell into every single K Drama tropes
Very Short review here.It's started fun and fresh. Very cute and funny with an interesting setup of following ex-cons and the challenges they encountered in trying to build a life in Korean society... all that with a fun and fresh romance...
Too bad this drama decided after a couple of episodes to veer away from what made this romance feel fresh and new and focus on basically what all k romances have done for the past 20+ years: the childhood connection, the ridiculous love triangle, the useless family drama (mafia style) in order to get a useless noble hero trope + separation trope and a couple of needless side stories to give some depth to some extra characters ( and I said extra not secondary).
Throw in a couple of side couples I never manage to care about - especially the baby couple... their love story just felt so forced it made me roll my eyes big time - in order to fill the minutes for the empty plot and you get My Sweet Mobster. Not a bad show, not a great show, a somewhat meh-good show that you'll probably forget in 2 months tops and is going to join the long list of shows you watch to pass the time and doesn't make you invested.
Not a show I would recommend... I struggled to finish it. The only reason I did was because I watched it as it aired... but it's definitely a show I would have dropped earlier if all episodes had been available as I would have checked where this series was going after I felt it was started to drag... which is something I started to feel about episode 8.
I'd say, the first 10 episodes are a delight... but after that the drama takes a very quick and steep deep dive into tropey territory and ultimately lost me.
As in most Romance K dramas, this show would have been great if it had only been 10 to 12 episodes at most. Ultimately its length ruined it. I was personally very tired by the end of it... But I do think you should watch it to make up your mind. Most characters are adorable and for some viewers, lots of the flaws can be overlooked, just because you love the characters that much.
It's usually my case... but not this time.
Dear My Sweet Mobster. Our relation was somewhat ok while it lasted... I don't hate you... but I won't remember you.
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Fateful suffering
Pros: The male lead and female lead have good chemistry, she also has good chemistry with the second male lead. The acting is nice. The ost is nice.Cons: The female lead is attacked every single episode by many never-ending enemies with either a lust for power or a lust for the male lead. It's 40 episodes long so it gets tiring. Also, whenever the people she trusts betray or hurt her, she forgives them and then they move on to the next plot which honestly doesn't make sense to me. Additionally, the male lead and female lead are sometimes petty towards each other leading to unnecessary misunderstandings and further complications that weren't needed in the first couple of episodes.
Do I recommend watching this? It honestly depends. If you are looking for a feel-good drama to pass the time, this isn't the drama for you. This drama will upset you. However, if you like either of the lead actors or want to see good chemistry etc, then this would be a good show to watch. I gave this an 8/10 star due to the chemistry/acting and ost. Otherwise, I would have given this a 4 because the plot/storyline is frustrating.
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THIS IS PROBABLY THE BEST MELODRAMA I'VE EVER SEEN! (and I've seen a lot of them) reasons? Let me list just a few of the many:
The plot. When I first saw the amount of episodes this drama had, I shivered. I thought "is it really possible for a drama to stay to the plot without becoming too dragged out if it has 108 episodes?" My answer, YES. IT CAN. This is a true masterpiece so don't hesitate to watch this drama. 108 episodes may be a lot but it is definitely worth it. Every second of it added to the plot and it never felt draggy at all. Every episode had a cliffhanger that led the plot to the next episode.
It had a great cast. Every actor and actress played their part to add to the emotional feeling of the drama. Every character was well developed and alive. The good ones you loved, cheered on, and cried with, the antagonists you cursed and hated from the bottom of your heart. Those emotions wouldn't have been as strong if the actors and actress didn't do a good job.
The music. This drama had one of the best OST I've ever heard. Begining with the emotional intro song that totally give away a dark and dramatic wibe that the story has, to a more emotional song that plays whenever something sad or unexpected happens. I cried and laughed together with the character in this drama and I bet the music only added to the feelings.
Choi Yu Ra. Yes I know that she plays the main evil character, but seriouly she is one of the reasons to check out this drama. Without spoiling too much of her evil deeds, let's just say it like this "if you think that you know what a real bitch is and how far an evil person can go on living while lying, time after time, then you've probably never seen Choi Yu Ra in action. This woman is the definition of what an evil main character is. Just when you think that she can't get any more messed up she accepts the challenge and proves you wrong. It amazed me just how much a person can get tangled into her own lies, and where in the end, the only thing that can make you stay alive and sane is more lies. This woman is messed up and I applaude to the actress who played Choi Yu Ra for protraiting this pure piece of evilness that added so much emotion to this drama.
If these reasons that I've pointed out doesn't make you get interested in giving this drama a chance then I don't know what will. But one things for sure, in my opnion this is one of the best, if not THE BEST melodrama I've watched.
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Thrill ride
Truth be told, I don’t have extensive experience with this type of republican drama, which makes it difficult for me to draw comparisons with others in a similar genre. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to share more of my thoughts about this one.From start to finish, the story was solid. There weren’t any unnecessary scenes or dialogue, and the pacing was just right—not too slow and not too fast. I initially watched this because of Zheyuan, and I was a bit worried about the potential political elements since they usually bore me to tears. Thankfully, this one steered clear of that.
The development of the characters was meticulously crafted, a step-by-step progression that led them to their current states, rather than experiencing sudden, overnight changes of heart. It was genuinely heartwarming to see Lin Shaobai evolve from a passionate (albeit a bit arrogant) young police officer into the reliable and thoughtful man he becomes in the second half of the story. At first, his bond with Lu Zhengyang was a bit frustrating since Lu Zhengyang was too stubborn to see things from Shaobai's perspective, but thankfully they manage to work through their issues. Given their age and generational gap, it made their differences a bit easier to handle.
Now, diving into the other characters, Shrike definitely deserved a more painful ending. He spent years torturing and ruining the lives of others, and it seemed far too easy for him to meet such a quick death; it felt almost merciful. As for his wife, she also deserved a more excruciating fate. While for Xu Wei, it seems they aimed to portray his death as heroic, but that approach didn’t resonate with me. While it’s true that Shaobai and Jin Yan wouldn’t have made it out alive without his assistance, he had several opportunities to redeem himself but chose not to. From the very beginning, he knew that his wife and child would remain in danger, regardless of how hard he worked for Shrike. Yet he was blinded by his pursuit of power and wealth. So, any so-called redemption arc or whatever they tried to push was total bullcrap. Xu Wei got no less than what he deserved, much like Jin Maochang. I could say I feel a bit sorry for him because the despicable deeds he committed weren’t for fun or simply for money and power, but rather out of love for his daughter. I dare say he’s better than Xu Wei, as he repeatedly tried to eliminate Shrike, even if it was also motivated by a desire to save himself. So, yeah, he better be dead.
As for the acting, bold italic and underline: top notch. And I can’t help but indulge myself by praising Zheyuan this time. Most of the cast consists of veteran actors and actresses, yet Zheyuan managed to hold his ground; there wasn’t a single moment in the entire 38 episodes where he seemed out of place. The scene where Shaobai and Jin Yan were crying in the car was absolutely off the charts; they needed no lines to convey their emotions. Jin Yan's crying scene after her father's death was also nothing short of terrific. Speaking of Shaobai and Jin Yan, I really don’t mind how their story unfolded. They might not be together (yet) by the end of the story, but it feels very fitting. If they had tossed in any hints of romance at the end, it would have felt way too sudden.
But, I have to say, I have a little complaint: the ending would’ve felt more realistic if Jin Yan wasn’t lying in the hospital bed. She only got stabbed once in the back, while Shaobai was shot multiple times, so how did she end up in worse condition than him? He even managed to go out and get a haircut. I really hope the reasoning behind this isn’t just because Shaobai is a man and Jin Yan is a woman.
Well overall, this drama was terrific. Amid all the seriousness and importance of their job, the comedic relief felt perfectly timed. Some scenes had me cracking up, and I loved every second of it. This whole viewing experience could very well be the catalyst that encourages me to explore more dramas in a similar genre in the future.
(Ps. Sending love and hugs to Huzi. In every drama, it feels like there’s always a need for a close friend or family member to be sacrificed toward the end. This time, it was Huzi who had the unfortunate honor of fulfilling that sentimental role.)
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Story: The idea really was fresh and had potential. However the episode count really was too much for the execution of the plot. This made continuously watching unbearable. The main plot was the big mystery of who is the main guy's father. This was drawn out till the very end, which made each episode repetitive and also contributed to the unbearbleness. The romance is also put on the back burner. The last episode though is fantastic!
Acting: I wasn't fond of the main leads being together. They had zero chemistry. The female lead's character was really unlikable. I actually preferred the second leads realationship. Thier acting really stands out and they made you root for them. The supporting cast all acted really well.
Music: not memorable.
Rewatch: I dont think so.
Overall this drama could have been done so much better. I recommend you watch maybe the first 10 episodes and skip to the last 2 episodes. Believe me you aren't missing much.
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This review may contain spoilers
Underwhelming
I think this is really down to preference. I guess there was no promise of revenge from the start and the drama is meant to focus on Samdal’s self discovery, heading back to her roots. But I was expecting a little bit more drama to be honest.They created this pretty nonchalant character at the beginning when Samdal was so cool about her ex-boyfriend cheating on her. Then they also built up a story about how bitter and just jealous this Bang Eun Joo was. And it stops there. The rest of drama, we witness all the back and forths between Samdal and Yong Pil in which till this day the break up was still a little stupid to me.
We spent a good amount of time digging way back to why the couple broke up and then got back together; seeing the sub-plots between the other two sisters and their partners; making sense out of why Yong Pil’s dad hated the family. With a lot of draggy built ups and fillers, we’ve finally reached the part where the drama comes to a close. At this point, I had given up hope of seeing any drama comeback from Samdal, the big revenge or karma on Eun Ju and this big mystery of why Samdal couldn’t go back to her hometown and breaking up with Yong Pil. Spoiler alert, none of them was interesting.
This drama is probably nice to watch if you are looking for something to play in the background - uneventful, peaceful and non-dramatic.
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